Clerk Duct Taped & Set On Fire During Robbery

Palestine police are searching for a suspect who they say duct-taped a store clerk and a customer, then set the customer on fire during a robbery at a convenience store.



The robbery occurred Thursday morning at the Pit Stop on North Link Street.



According to Chief Andy Harvey, the suspect entered the store armed with a handgun. He is shown on surveillance video asking the store clerk for something from behind the counter, and when her back is turned, he is shown pulling a handgun out. He is then shown forcing the clerk into a corner behind the counter.



The video also shows the man going to the door of the store, and physically bringing a female customer into the store. He is shown duct-taping her behind the counter. He then douses the women with fluid, and lights the customer on fire.



Harvey said the clerk was able to help the customer get her burning shirt off. The customer was transported to a local hospital for treatment, and was then taken to a Dallas hospital for treatment.



“The suspect … decided to pour lighter fluid on the cashier and the customer. Right before he left, he lit a match and lit them on fire," Harvey said.



Later Harvey clarified that the customer was set on fire, while the clerk was crouched in the corner and doused with lighter fluid. The lighter fluid, the store owner said, had been bought by the suspect a short time before he re-entered the store to commit the crime.